An Excellent Education for ALL Virginians

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“The proper role of government is not to guarantee equality of outcomes, but equality of opportunity. That means we have a moral duty to ensure all children have access to an excellent public school.” – Ed Gillespie

The Plan in 30 Seconds

As governor, Ed will work to ensure that every child has the opportunity for quality, personalized learning. In the past four years, Virginia dropped ten spots in Education Week Rankings from number four to 14. Just 10 years ago, Virginia ranked number one in the country. It’s T.I.M.E. for a student-centered education plan for the 21st Century. His education agenda is framed around four key priorities:

Teacher Leadership. Greater freedom to innovate and work with parents to respond to the unique needs of individual children. This plan provides teachers professional autonomy to make decisions in the best interest of their students while ensuring accountability.

Innovation. Virginia students will benefit by bringing innovation into the classroom to enable personalized learning.

More Opportunities. Virginia students, teachers, and families will benefit from innovative solutions—driven by technology—to more efficiently deliver and monitor learning and teaching in the 21st century.

Excellence. To secure optimum outcomes in student achievement, we must insist upon excellence at all points of the education experience—from teacher preparation to early childhood resources.

Summary

From the moment a child is born, parents want their child to get a good start in life and receive a good education, but many Virginians increasingly see their child’s future as uncertain. Unlike past generations that had confidence the next generation could do better, parents today are unsure what the future holds for their children.

Creating a better future starts with a quality education that provides a strong foundation for young learners and prepares students for success. From early childhood education through high school and onward to postsecondary education, Virginians need a strong education system providing school age children every opportunity to succeed. While Virginia has an excellent education system, the reality is that too many of our young people are entering the workforce without the skills they need to get good paying jobs. Too many students graduate high school unprepared for college or the workforce. And too many children lack the opportunities they deserve and are forced into failing schools because of the zip code in which they live.

Much of this stems from a rigid, top-down educational structure imposing unnecessary mandates on schools and teachers, stifling innovation, and diverting funds that would be better spent in the classroom and various alternatives which show great potential.

This system is no longer adequate for a diverse Virginia. We are a state with three of the five wealthiest counties in America – and also one with 18 school systems in which more than 70 percent of the children are poor enough to receive free and reduced-priced meals. We are a state with some of the most powerful technology companies in the world – but also one where children have to do their after-school research at McDonald’s or the public library because their neighborhoods lack internet access. We are a state with overcrowded classrooms – and schools with rapidly declining enrollment.

A “one size fits all” system will no longer work in Virginia. The challenge for our next governor is to make sure that all students – no matter where they live – have the opportunity to reach their full potential and that our high school and college graduates are career-ready on day one, prepared with skills for life.

Ed’s agenda of teacher leadership, innovation, more opportunities, and excellence puts students first by giving families and schools the tools they need to help children reach their full potential. Ed will channel more money into the classroom, reform our system to give teachers and schools more flexibility and move Virginia toward personalized learning for all children. Ed and his team, working with the General Assembly and stakeholders, will tackle the challenge of failing schools head-on and meet our constitutional responsibility to ensure that every child, in every community, has access to a high quality, safe and student-focused public education. Ed will work with local educators, institutions of higher education and businesses to reform and better align our workforce development system with the demands of the marketplace of today and the future.

Download Ed’s Education Plan

TEACHER LEADERSHIP

Virginia is blessed to be home to teachers and school leaders who view their work as a calling, a mission to provide opportunity and enrichment to a new generation. We must do more to support teachers and school leaders to do what is in the best interest of the child.

Increase Teacher Compensation
Ed will support innovative funding models that put more money into teacher pay, while simultaneously incentivizing growth outcomes for students and professional learning communities for our educators.

Teacher Paperwork Reduction Act
Ed will put forward legislation to evaluate and reduce the amount of paperwork teachers are required to complete so teachers can focus more on teaching.

Teacher Cabinet and Senior Advisor on Teaching
Ed will appoint a Teacher Cabinet to advise the administration on education. Teachers will have a direct line to the governor, and he will be responsive to their ideas and concerns. As a sign of Ed’s respect for teaching, Ed will appoint a senior advisor on teaching to advise the Secretary of Education and the entire administration.

Reform Teacher Licensure and Create an Adjunct Teacher Category
The Virginia General Assembly has taken important steps to advance reforms to our teacher licensure laws. There is more we can do. A NASA astronaut could not teach High School physics tomorrow in the current system. A skilled-engineer or scientist should be able to serve as an ‘adjunct’ teacher in our public schools to teach a limited class. As governor, Ed Gillespie will support legislation and action by the Virginia Department of Education to advance policies and protocols that allow for adjunct teachers in our public schools. We should also reward school divisions that create innovative opportunities for student learning.

Support the Implementation of Career Ladders
Career ladders are a way to incentivize teachers to improve their practice, and stay in the classroom rather than assuming administrative roles. Too many of our best teachers are heading into school administration because of the nature of the current incentive structure. As governor, Ed will work to ensure the development and use of career ladders for Virginia teachers.

Bolster Teacher Preparation Programs
Ed will work with deans of Schools of Education across Virginia to better align the training future teachers receive with the challenges of actual classrooms. Teachers should be equipped with detailed knowledge about the Virginia Standards of Learning, trained on how to use assessment data to improve student learning, and exposed to exemplary teachers and examples of best practices.

INNOVATION

We all want to challenge children to reach as high as they can. But an overly restrictive system inhibits teachers from challenging their students. To succeed in the 21st Century, education needs to drive instructional decision-making as close to the classroom as possible. Only then can we create an accountability system based on measuring outcomes, rather than inputs.

Next Steps on SOL Reform: Ensure Accountability AND Growth
In the 1990s, under the leadership of Governor George Allen, Virginia was known as a leader in assessments and accountability. At that time, Virginia’s leadership on accountability helped shape thinking across the nation. But in recent years, our accountability systems have increasingly been twisted to satisfy dictates from Washington, rather than the needs of Virginians. It’s time to change that. In recent years, the General Assembly and State Board of Education have taken steps to reduce the number of Standards of Learning (SOL) tests and focus on those that are the most important to benchmark our students’ progress and our schools’ performance. Accountability for academic achievement remains essential. We cannot accept social promotion of students from grade to grade. Students who need added help should receive it so that a Virginia high school diploma is meaningful.
A Gillespie administration will improve our assessment and accountability systems to ensure accountability and growth. Ed and his administration will seek to meet the needs of all Virginia students by ensuring standards are met even as they provide teachers with the flexibility to innovate in the classroom and challenge students to academically rise as high as they can.

Recognize Growth
Achievement (meaning pass rates) has long been a key measure of school, teacher and student performance. In recent years, experts have recognized that student growth measures are important in evaluating performance when coupled with strong accountability. Ed believes that if a student is able to see two years of growth in one year’s time, that school, teacher and student should be celebrated, even if they are behind a traditional achievement score. It should be the stated policy of the Commonwealth to advance measures related to achievement and student growth, but not at the expense of one another.
As governor, Ed will direct his Secretary of Education to advance student growth measures in accountability and policy making. A Gillespie Administration will work to bring the best in data analytics to classrooms to help provide teachers and parents real-time information about learning. A parent or teacher should be able to understand in October that a child is falling behind, not in May after SOL testing. Achievement and growth matter and should be considered in accountability.

Support Innovation School Districts
Legislation authored by Delegate Tag Greason offers new opportunities to school divisions and schools to benefit from autonomy much more like public charter schools. We can provide pathways to innovation through waivers of regulatory provisions in exchange for a commitment to certain goals.
As governor, Ed will encourage school divisions and schools that seek the designation of “Innovation School Divisions” by offering legislation to expand waivers to include exemptions from certain statutory provisions and by appointing to the State Board of Education members who are committed to increasing educational innovation.

Create an intergovernmental STEM Council
Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, and Health (STEM-H) provide important pathways for career and workforce development. With a focus on STEM-H subjects, our students will be more prepared with the skills that make them career ready on day one, whether after high school or secondary education.
As governor, Ed will appoint an intergovernmental STEM-H Council to promote STEM-H subjects in schools and workforce development. This includes incentivizing those with degrees in math and science to enter the teaching profession as well as expanding the reach of the excellent science and math teachers already in our schools. This council will also explore options related to Career Academies and programs that connect local businesses with students who would like to gain experience in a certain industry.

Supplemental Course Choice Programs
Ed will expand Virginia’s online supplemental course catalog to make more courses available to Virginia’s students and properly fund these supplemental courses. Any Virginia student should be able to enroll in online courses to supplement their education without onerous restrictions. By contracting with Virginia’s pre-approved virtual education providers, we can expand online course offerings to include career and technical preparation as well as dual enrollment courses and advanced coursework not available at a student’s local school.

Advance Blended Learning Opportunities
By combining traditional classroom learning with online learning technology we will give our teachers the ability to individualize the learning experience for Virginia’s students. Students in blended learning can control the time, pace and location of their learning experience to better help them succeed in the traditional classroom setting. For example, as real-world examples of data and statistics, grade-level appropriate activities are designed so that students analyze performance data from past tests. Incorporating online learning into the classroom will not only help customize their education but will also make Virginia’s students more competitive as the workplace continues to incorporate more technological advances.

Establish College Partnership Lab Schools
Ed supports the College Partnership Laboratory Schools in Virginia, with a focus on our most underserved populations working with high-quality educational partners. Under the McAuliffe-Northam Administration the College Partnership Laboratory Schools Committee of the Board of Education has not met a single time or established a single school.
As governor, Ed will work to establish Virginia’s first College Partnership Lab School. This is good for our teacher preparation programs and good for students.

Champion Career and Technical Education
Regardless of a student’s chosen path, the preferred outcome for all high school graduates is a job and a career. For some that means preparing and enrolling in a four-year program and for others that means learning a skill and entering the workforce. Virginia should be pathway neutral. The goal is to secure a good-paying job that allows for upward mobility and happy life full of opportunity. Virginia
Ed will advance a policy proposed by Senator Frank Wagner to establish the Standards of Achievement (SOA) to provide those students opting into the SOA program a high-quality technical education. The Virginia Department of Education will lead the development of the Standards of Achievement along with the required testing. The private sector and partners who require skilled technicians will be asked to help develop curriculum along with professional educators. All curriculum will align and eventually result in portable, industry-recognized credentials. The SOA program will enable Virginia’s high school graduates to earn credentials, skills for life, and a meaningful pathway to a career.

MORE OPPORTUNITIES

Every child is unique, which is why families should have a variety of options when deciding how to educate their children. Creating new opportunities is about making public schools better, and giving families the freedom to choose the school that will help their children learn and grow. When parents are empowered to make the decisions that are best for their children, students will benefit from personalized learning.

Many of the following initiatives have succeeded with broad bipartisan support in both “red” and “blue” states, and there is no reason that Republicans and Democrats can’t come together here in Virginia as they have across the county to drop lifelines to kids in failing school divisions. We must unleash the potential and talents of these children.

Advance Quality Public Charter Schools in Virginia
Public charter schools provide parents with alternatives when their zoned-public school is underperforming. Public charter schools provide opportunity for innovation, research and development in a field too often stifled by the status quo.
Public charter schools are some of the top-performing schools in the country. Not only are they closing the achievement gap, but a higher percentage of charter students are accepted into a college or university.
Sadly, Virginia is near the bottom of the country in terms of charter school opportunity. For example, neighboring North Carolina has 167 public charter schools, compared to Virginia’s nine. Current Virginia law makes it nearly impossible to open a public charter school. Even if one does get approved to open, the school is not given the autonomy to innovate like charter schools in nearly every other state with a charter school law.
As governor, Ed will –

Work to pass legislation creating opportunities for more quality public charter schools, especially in communities where children are given no choice other than a persistently low-performing traditional public school. Legislation introduced and passed by Senator Mark Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg), Delegate Rob Bell (R-Albemarle) and Delegate Steve Landes (R-Verona) received bipartisan support, but it was vetoed by Governor McAuliffe. It was narrowly drawn to help children in failing school divisions while exempting most other divisions.

Create a charter school incubator to help public charter schools benefit from new ideas, innovative leadership, and best practices. As the Center for Reinventing Public Education (CRPE) notes, “incubators recruit, competitively select, and support high-quality school founders as they design and build new schools in specific locations. By investing in our developing talented school leaders and connecting them with local networks of support, incubators are betting that they can increase the likelihood that new schools will perform well.” The incubator will also partner with traditional public schools to bring new ideas and tools to all of public education.

Reform our public charter school law to allow us to recruit top charter school leaders and organizations to Virginia. The Commonwealth is home to some remarkable and visionary education pioneers, but until our state is more welcoming to charter innovation they will continue to take their talents elsewhere. We need to attract more charter operators like KIPP Academies, which teaches 80,000 students in 200 schools nationwide. Eighty-eight percent of KIPP’s students are on Free and Reduced Meals, 17 percent are English Language Learners – and 93 percent graduate high school, 80 percent start college and 38 percent get a four-year college degree – compared with a national average of ten percent of low-income students. As governor, Ed will work to bring home some of the remarkable education talent we continue to export to other states and bring home talent who will help low performing students meet their highest aspirations.

Full-Time Virtual Public Education
Virginia is home to extraordinary advances in technology, and we should be leading in virtual learning – whether full-time or through single courses. Each student is unique, and not every student’s learning needs are met by their assigned local public school. Ed believes that Virginia’s parents know what is best for their children and we must provide innovative public school options for our families so that we can meet our students’ learning needs. Virtual education enables us to provide every student a quality education regardless of zip code. Included in our public school options should be a robust and sustainable public virtual education system of full-time virtual public education options, supplemental course choice programs, and blended learning opportunities.
The General Assembly has taken a firm position for three years in a row and supported Delegate Dickie Bell and Senator Siobhan Dunnavant’s legislation to create a statewide virtual school for full-time virtual public education that has unfortunately been twice vetoed by our current Governor. Full-time virtual public education is a popular choice for families in unique situations such as active duty military families, students on homebound instruction, students with special needs, students being bullied in their local public school, and students wishing to learn at a different pace than offered in their current classroom. As governor, Ed will create a centralized and sustainable statewide system for full-time virtual public education through the creation of a statewide public virtual school or a virtual public charter school.

Expand the Education Improvement Scholarship Tax Credit
Nationally, more than 20 scholarship tax credit programs attract hundreds of millions of dollars in private investment to help nearly a quarter million low-income students receive a better education. In Virginia, our program actually saves the state money – but it only raises enough funding to help 3,500 students. But with one of the lowest tax credits in the nation, businesses and benefactors are investing in other states rather than here. We need to strengthen Virginia’s EISTC program to incentivize more investment in Virginia’s children, including early childhood education.
EISTC programs across the country have been expanded by Democratic administrations because they have been so successful in allowing low-income families to enroll their children in schools of their own choosing. Right now it’s just families with means who do so – and that doesn’t just mean those who can afford private school, it includes those who can afford to move to neighborhoods with good schools. We owe it to every Virginian to increase their ability to do right by their children.

Establish Education Savings Accounts
As governor, Ed will sign legislation establishing Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) in Virginia. The evidence is clear: ESAs provide access to personalized learning options that recognize each child is unique and deserves an education celebrating individual potential. Ed has long supported ESAs as a mechanism for increasing opportunity for Virginia’s students. Ed will work with the General Assembly on the specifics of the legislation.

Promote Policies that are Fair to Homeschool Families
Virginia is home to more than 33,000 homeschool students. If they were a school division, homeschoolers would be the 8th largest in the state. Virginia’s families that choose home instruction deserve an education system that is responsive to their unique needs and treats them as the taxpaying citizens they are. As governor, Ed will:

Sign the Tebow Bill. Delegate Rob Bell has been a strong champion for home instruction for years. Ed will sign the Tebow Bill into law, allowing homeschool students the opportunity to participate on their school district sports teams.

Support Dual Enrollment Tuition Fairness for homeschool families. Homeschool families pay state and local taxes and contribute to their economies and communities. Dual enrollment is a commonsense policy to be championed by Virginia’s next governor, and homeschool families deserve access to the benefits of a local dual enrollment programs.

Eliminate the requirement that homeschool families must pay tuition to access Virtual Virginia, the Department of Education’s system for online digital coursework. Homeschool families whose taxes support this system should not be treated as second class citizens when there is no extra tuition imposed on public school students and families.

Increase awareness of ALL education options
Ed will work to develop a comprehensive website which lists all available education choices for parents, searchable by address for birth through college. By giving parents a menu of varied education options, we can ensure that each child in Virginia receives quality instruction, tailored to their specific needs and abilities.

Support Wrap-Around and Out of School Time (OST) Programs
High-quality wrap-around services and OST programs provide critical in-school capacity, after-school and summer programs to young people. Programs such as Communities In Schools (CIS), NextUP RVA and many others provide additional capacity to underserved communities. As governor, Ed will host a Wrap-Around and OST Summit during the first year of the administration and commit to advancing programs with the highest leverage and outcomes for community partnerships. These partnerships will ensure that our students have ample opportunities to pursue passions and develop skills that will greatly help them succeed later in life.

Become the Most Friendly State in the Nation for Special Needs Students
Virginia’s special needs students face unique challenges, but all children have the ability to learn and live fulfilling lives. Ed will be a strong governor for children with special needs. Unfortunately, Virginia faces critical teacher shortages in special education. As governor, Ed will:
Increase participation in the Virginia Department of Education’s Academy for Aspiring Special Education Leaders.
Develop a special education teacher workforce strategy to close the special education teacher shortage in Virginia.
Host the Governor’s Research and Policy Symposium for Special Education.

Expand Programs for High-Ability Students
Virginia has an admirable record of addressing the needs of gifted and high-ability students through the magnet schools like the Governor’s Schools, the Governor’s Academies and related initiatives. Ed will seek to expand on this success by devoting resources to help our brightest students excel. For example, he will explore establishing another full-time, campus-based Academic-Year Governor’s School. Data shows that this is a highly demanded concept in Virginia, and there is a large pool of qualified students from which to draw. Both the Thomas Jefferson Governor’s School for Science and Technology and the Maggie Walker Governor’s School for Government and International Studies turn away many qualified applicants each year.

EXCELLENCE

If you believe, as Ed does, that the government’s role is to guarantee equality of opportunity for all, then we have a moral duty to work hard to ensure that all children have access to an excellent public school.

Cut the Achievement Gap in Half in 10 Years
Virginia is blessed to be home to thousands of dedicated educators, school leaders and professionals. Unfortunately, for too many Virginia students, they are not reaching their potential. An achievement gap exists in Virginia between students from different socioeconomic backgrounds, and Virginians must work together to close this gap.
As governor, Ed will lead an effort to cut the achievement gap in half for underserved populations within ten years, including and especially for children in poverty. Ed will charge his Secretary of Education to convene a special working group to develop executive, administrative and legislative strategies to remove barriers for educating at-risk students, focusing on innovative solutions, targeting services and resources in and out of government, and making clear the expectations for success and an intolerance for failure. Virginia children deserve nothing less.

Elevate the Office of School Improvement to report directly to the Superintendent of Public Instruction
Virginia’s is among the best education systems in the nation. However, a persistent number of school divisions and schools have failed the children attending them for far too long. Nine schools have had their accreditation denied for at least three of the last five years. It’s not enough to simply shake our heads over this; it is time to shake up those systems.
By executive order, Ed will elevate the Office of School Improvement at the Virginia Department of Education to report directly to the Superintendent of Public Instruction. There is no higher moral priority than to provide children attending persistently unaccredited schools a better opportunity. Raising the focus of the Office of School Improvement will provide the needed dedication and attention to this important function of the Department. Ed will require accountability of our state education leaders just as we require accountability from our schools.

Advance School Readiness for At-Risk Children
Children from low-income families often start school already at a disadvantage. Studies have shown that children in high-income families will hear roughly 30 million more words by age three than children in low-income families. Not only are these low-income children often behind when they reach the starting line of kindergarten, they are oftentimes behind when they begin preschool. As governor, Ed will expand our partnerships with private early childhood providers. The Republican General Assembly pioneered a mixed delivery system, utilizing public, private, community-based, licensed family and center-based childcare.
As governor, Ed will continue to advance, expand, and align the mixed delivery system for early childhood interventions. Ed will champion high-quality school readiness opportunities for our at-risk children, preparing them for school and workplace success.

Re-Establish the Children’s Cabinet with Transparency and Accountability
Virginia’s children do not conform to neat government organization charts. They face complex problems that deserve a whole-of-government response. One area of bipartisan agreement is that children deserve extraordinary care and leaders who will put aside partisan disagreements and work to make life better and opportunity greater.
As governor, Ed will re-establish the Children’s Cabinet to bring together key stakeholders and officials to solve problems for children. Unlike the McAuliffe-Northam Administration’s approach, Ed will require all meetings to be available to the public and stakeholders. He will charge his Administration with including stakeholders in the Children’s Cabinet from day one. This is truly the only way to ensure solutions are truly public-private partnerships. Ed’s Children’s Cabinet will be built to last beyond a Gillespie Administration to a child-centered approach from state government.

Enact School Suspension Reform
School safety and discipline are important for a conducive learning environment. However, according to a recent report, Virginia is the highest in the nation for referring students to law enforcement for school discipline issues. During the 2012-2013 academic school year 27,568 students were suspended, and, of that, 16,019 were elementary school students. In addition, students of color and students with disabilities were suspended at higher rates. Students who are suspended from school are more likely to experience academic struggles or substance abuse and are more prone to gang activity and law enforcement contact, according to the research.
As governor, Ed will work with the General Assembly, as well as teachers and local school officials, to enact school suspension reform with a greater focus on elementary school.

Education Finance Reform
As governor, Ed will support the Republican General Assembly’s 10:10:10 policy that provides important funding for school divisions experiencing significant population decline.
In addition, Ed will convene experts and innovators to advise the Governor and General Assembly on possible reforms to Virginia’s education financing system. Ed will establish a Task Force on Education Financing, and will involve all stakeholders — from those who fund our education system to those who manage and use it.

Recruit Talented, Highly Motivated Teachers to Hard-to-Staff Schools
Underserved rural and urban school divisions face challenges in recruiting highly qualified teachers. Frequently, teachers experience burnout and depart the school or the profession altogether, leaving our students with fewer seasoned and highly qualified teachers. Too often we see long-term substitutes in place of full-time teachers.
As governor, Ed will direct the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) to provide recommendations within the first 90 days of strategies to recruit talented teachers to hard-to-staff schools, including: incentivizing new Nationally Board Certified Teachers (NBCT) to work in hard-to-staff-schools; creating a loan forgiveness program for teachers who agree to work in such schools for at least five years; enhancing Virginia’s “student teacher” provisions; establishing a teacher recruitment program to focus on underrepresented populations who are from the populations of the students they are seeking to serve; and working with the nonprofit sector to assist in expanding Teach For America’s presence in Virginia.

Fund the Teacher Residency Program
Virginia Commonwealth University pioneered a Teacher Residency program to ensure teachers entering underserved communities are adequately prepared for the challenges they will face in and out of the classroom. We train physicians through residency experiences to prepare them for the rigors of their field. We should do the same for teachers preparing to enter underserved schools.
As governor, Ed will fund teacher residency programs to ensure that we have a pipeline of talented, committed teachers to serve our communities.